Product Inspiration

With recent advancements in the manufacture of nano-size coatings and particles, there is a growing number of products which offer “self-cleaning” capabilities. Some of these products are simply hydrophobic (repels water), so that no sticky liquids collect on the surfaces. Others incorporate nanoparticles of silver to kill any bacteria which land on them. In particular, these silver nanoparticles have made quite an impact, and are now in everything from door handles to pens to infant shoes.

These particular products use nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, which reacts with light to break down any organic material. So far, the nanoparticle coating has been applied to bathroom fixtures and windows. Much like the silver nanoparticle boom, I bet we will see a bunch more applications where titanium dioxide particles are used to keep surfaces clean, such as on cars, patio furniture, and even perhaps clothing.

Where else would it be nice to have a self-cleaning product?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4696434.stm

http://corporateportal.ppg.com/NA/Glass/ResidentialGlass/Homeowners/Pr oductInformation/SunClean/

Hydrophobic products like Rain-X “repel” water, usually by preventing the droplet’s surface tension from being ruptured. In the last year or two, there’s been a bunch of improvements to this science, ranging from nano-etching small bumps in glass (the gaps between the bumps are too small for water to fit), to super-hydrophobic coatings like this.

With something like this that repels water so effectively, there are opportunities to improve everything from outdoor equipment to precision lubricated surfaces. Best of all, this powder appears to be very cheap to manufacture, so perhaps we’ll see some new waterproof gadgets in the not-so-distant future.

http://www.tfot.info/news/1097/super-water-repellent.html

An essential part of product development is analyzing the failure modes for a particular product. This ensures that the product will (probably) not fail after just a few uses. In many applications where every penny (or gram) counts, making the product work just long enough to be satisfactory without over-engineering it is one of the most exhaustive and difficult parts of the design and manufacturing process.

Up until recently, if any part of the case or structure failed, it meant that the entire system would fail, necessitating all kinds of careful analysis and design to reduce the chance of this happening. Now, self-healing materials are showing some promise for the not-too-distant future.

Not long ago, a material was developed which contained microcapsules or micro-channels of epoxy which would be ruptured if the material was broken or cut, and the epoxy would heal the ‘wound’. click here for more info

Now, this new development doesn’t even need such epoxy to heal itself, but instead uses a novel new molecular design to ‘grow’ over cuts and breaks. Granted, this is very early in development, but once such a seemingly magic material becomes feasible to use in commercial products, it could make a massive impact on the way we see and create new products.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7254939.stm

Technorati : rubber, self healing

As most of your already know, there is a LOT of R & D resources being put into ethanol these days. Here’s one development in particular that seems a good candidate for success. Like other promising methods, it can take a huge range of feed stocks (from food processing by-products to sewage waste), and does the conversion through specially engineered bacteria that consume the processed feedstock and excrete ethanol. Unlike some other promising methods though, this system is both cost effective and immediately ready for deployment.

http://www.wired.com/cars/energy/news/2008/01/ethanol23

Technorati : bacteria, ethanol

In contrast with the last entry, which was focused on a completely new method of sensing materials in a fluid, this new technology simply shrinks down a conventional method to a much smaller package. Initially, this seemed like an incremental improvement to the conventional GC-MS (gas chromatography and mass spectrometry) systems, until I read how much it really improved on the technology: The size was reduced from computer-size to matchbox-size, analysis time dropped from 15 minutes to 4 seconds, and energy consumption went from 10,000 joules to 4 joules!

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/micro-analyzer-0110.html

Technorati : MEMS, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, nano, sensor

There’s been a few new sensors over the last few years which use a cantilever design to detect materials. In essence, the cantilever is like a diving board which is vibrating at certain a certain, known frequency. When something binds or gets attached to the end of the cantilever, the change in weight causes a change in the vibration of the cantilever. Best of all, the accuracy and resolution of this method is good enough to identify a molecule by its weight alone!

Technologies like this are a great example of what MEMS technology does for us. We simply take an effect well known on the macro scale, and shrink it down for improved performance, accuracy, and price. This new and upcoming class of sensors is extremely accurate, and through the use of specialized coatings and materials, are also selective in which chemicals they sense.

http://www.physorg.com/news109264658.html

Technorati : cantilever sensor

This new coating protects concrete from water-related damage, one of the biggest causes of failure and wear in buildings and roads. The coating is actually a powder of materials which fill in the cracks and voids in the concrete, and form a strong, impenetrable layer on the outside of the concrete. While the implications of this new technology may not be super wide reaching (crack prevention in other materials?), the ability to extend the life of a concrete structure may save loads of money for businesses and governments.

http://www.tfot.info/pod/1087/waterproof-concrete.html

This double feature of related technologies shows how far audio recognition and processing has come in the last decade.

The first product (which is not the only of its kind) listens to a baby’s cry and translates it into a message which us big people can understand; the second is a computer which listens to a barking dog and identifies its meaning.

Now that computers can be programmed to listen for and interpret similar-yet-distinct sounds, there are lots of cool possibilities out there to improve our own hearing abilities with the strengths of a computer. Some other already made examples include an audio system to detect what direction a sniper is shooting from, and biometric voice recognition for security systems. Where else can we augment our hearing to get more info from a sound?

http://ohgizmo.com/2006/03/03/cry-baby-analyzer/

http://www.dailymail.c o.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=508550&in_p age_id=1811

Years ago, fiber optics were touted as the ‘next big thing’ in digital communication, and plans were made to bring optical fiber connectivity into every house. Unfortunately, these high quality glass fibers are quite expensive, and the effort fell short of its goals because of this high cost.

Recent advancements in plastics quality and manufacturing has opened the door for plastic optical fibers which provide the same optical data transmission capabilities at a fraction of the cost. A new European initiative is underway to get such plastic optical fibers made and ready for mass deployment.

If this effort is successful, we could see a reinvigoration of the 20 year old effort to get optical connections to all homes and buildings. For us rural-yet-technologically-inclined folks, this is music to our ears.

http://www.physorg.com/news119110397.html

Silver is a strong antibacterial agent which kills any germs which come into contact with it. A few years ago, some researchers came up with a relatively cheap way to make nano-size particles of silver, which has lead to lots of new products with the tag ‘antibacterial’. These new products include pens at the bank, handles on public doors, and various other communal objects.

Paint is the newest product to bring in silver nanoparticles for antibacterial properties. While pens and door handles may keep germs from transferring from one person to another, an entire room of antibacterial walls could significantly reduce the overall germ count in any room.

Now that there is a very easy and cheap way to make practically any device kill germs, I bet we will see many more handheld and communal objects come out that are antibacterial. What else would you like to keep germ-free?

http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/dust_repellant_paint.php